The government has been urged to take action over an exodus of GPs who are leaving the profession because they feel ‘undervalued’.

Research by the University of Exeter looked at the reasons GPs were quitting after an earlier study suggested that two out of every five GPs in the South-West of England planned to leave direct patient care in the next five years. Prof John Campbell, who led the research, said: “Despite recent government plans to address the problem, numbers are continuing to fall.

“If we do not act now, many areas will face a severe shortfall in the number of GPs providing care for patients in their area.”